Establishment

11 St James Hall was established in 1991. It was formally opened on 25 October 1991 by the Honourable Murray Gleeson AC KC who was then the Chief Justice of NSW (prior to his appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia in 1998).

Notable Members

The inaugural heads of Chambers were John Spender QC and John Stowe QC. Peter Newton SC is the current head of chambers. He succeeded Martin Einfeld KC on his retirement in 2022.

11 St James Hall has seen a number of its members elevated to judicial appointment or appointed to key government roles.  Two of the seven currently serving judges of the High Court of Australia were members of 11 St James Hall for their entire careers at the Bar – a distinction of which our Chambers is particularly proud and one that no other Australian barristers’ chambers can claim.

These include:

• The Honourable Stephen Charles KC, appointed a Judge of the Victorian Court of Appeal in 1995.
• The Honourable Helen Gay Murrell, appointed a judge of the District Court of NSW in 1996, appointed as the founding Senior Judge of the Drug Court of NSW in 1998, and appointed as the Chief Justice of the ACT Supreme Court in 2013.
• The Honourable Peter McClellan AM KC, appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW in 2001, appointed Chief Judge of the Land & Environment Court in 2003, and appointed Chief Judge at Common Law of the Supreme Court of NSW in 2005. He also served as the chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
• The Honourable Nigel Rein SC, appointed a Judge of the District Court of NSW in 2002, and appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW in 2008.
• The Honourable Justice Jayne Jagot, appointed a Judge of the NSW Land & Environment Court in 2006, appointed a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia in 2008 and appointed a Justice of the High Court of Australia in 2022.
• The Honourable Justice David Hammerschlag, appointed  Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW in 2007 and appointed a Judge of Appeal and Chief Judge in Equity in 2022.
• The Honourable Justice Robert Beech-Jones, appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW in 2012, appointed a Judge of Appeal and Chief Judge at Common Law in 2021 and appointed a Justice of the High Court of Australia in 2023.
• Gail Furness SC is the Inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.  In March 2023, she was also appointed as the inaugural Inspector of the new National Anti-Corruption Commission.  She holds these appointments concurrently.